The Fall of... .

Most of us who collect ancient and medieval coins are also astute students of history as well and we are all familiar with those events that are commonly spoken of and known as "The fall of... . as in the Fall of the Alamo, the fall of the Third Reich", that sort of thing. In ancient and medieval history we speak of the Fall of the Roman Empire or the Fall of Constantinople, or the Fall of Jerusalem, both in ancient time and in the medieval Crusades. Let's take a look at one these "falls", one which occurred on April 16, in the year of 73 AD.

On the evening of April 15,73 AD, Eleazar ben Yair summoned some 960 of his followers for what would be his last speaking to them. We have this speech from the Jewish historian (Flavius) Josephus) who probably heard of it from two women and their children, so although some of the speech may have been contrived by the historian (a common literary device of ancient historians) it may also be an accurate representation of what Eleazar said to his Zealot followers. The next day, April 16, would end what had begun some eight years before, when the Jewish people, exasperated by a series of incompetent, actually ruthless procurators, and inspired by a series of messiahs preaching the replacement of Roman rule by a Divinely centered theocracy, took up arms and drove the Roman troops from not just Jerusalem but pretty much all of Judaea and Galilee as well. Neither the Roman governor in Syria nor the Emperor, Nero, in Rome thought a whole lot about the uprising. Nero was losing his grip on affairs in the city and the governor had been having problems, many problems, with the provinces to his south where the Jewish population was constantly fighting with the Gentile populations of the region. Nero appointed the competent commander, Vespasian to deal with the problem.

Vespasian commanded quite an army, not just several legions of Roman troops but their accompanying auxiliaries and a considerable contingent of troops from the nearby client states. One of these contingents was a force of archers and slingers from the Kingdom of Commagene and was commanded by the king himself, Antiochus IV. Vespasian would need them all as early attempts by Roman troops under the Governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, to crush the rebellion, failed and the Romans incurred significant losses. Vespasian took his son, Titus, with him as part of the young man's training for greater things later but Vespasian almost lost Titus when he approached too close to the walls of Jerusalem and was nearly killed or captured.

The Roman assault on Jerusalem was placed on hold as Vespasian had to digest the news of Nero's overthrow and three Roman commanders discovering that emperors could be made elsewhere than in Rome. For over a year Galba, Otho and Vitellius battled it out for succession to the throne and Vespasian had his supporters back in Rome who saw to it that when Vitellius was killed by the city mob, the throne was offered to Vespasian. Vespasian returned to Rome and left the Roman Army under the command of Titus to take Jerusalem. That would be the most difficult task of all. Jerusalem was placed under siege and while the Roman Army tried to batter its way in, the population within was battling not only the Romans outside the walls but themselves within them. Even before Titus was able to undermine and batter his way into the city much of the population had been killed by both famine and bloody civil war between several rival factions. The massacre of the still living inhabitants was atrocious and the Temple Of Jerusalem was sacked and burned to the ground. It was never rebuilt. Titus would return to Rome to help his father celebrate a great triumph (which the self serving Josephus got to review from the imperial box).

But the rebellion was not quite over. A small army of Jewish insurgents (less than a thousand) still held out in the fortress of Masada located near the Dead Sea, surrounded by a very hostile and bleak desert landscape. The emperor, Vespasian, was determined to blot out the very memory of this remnant remainder of Zealots (and as Josephus calls them, sicarrii, dagger men). The Roman commander, Silva, with the Tenth legion and attendant auxiliaries undertook the task of taking a fortress built upon a mountain plateau. Although less than a thousand Zealots were in the fortress their position seemed unassailable, until Silva had his men build a ramp some hundred feet high to get to the level of Masada's walls. Once there the Romans were abled to batter and burn their way to a breach in the walls. Only they never had the chance to avenge their losses of the long siege and fighting. As the Romans made ready to finish off the garrison, and their families inside the next morning, Eleazar would give that final speech to his followers. Rather than the men face crucifixion and the women brutal ravishing and then they and their children enslavement, Eleazar would have them take their own lives. That night the Zealots killed their own wives and children, then slew themselves. When the Romans battered down the last of the walls the next morning, they encountered, first, only silence and then a sight that must have shaken even the most hardened of Roman soldiers. Two women and a few children were found hiding within the wreckage. Apparently they were allowed to live, at least for a while. Their ultimate fate is unknown.

So, as we come to the day of April 16th let us reflect on what history holds for us and perhaps our troubles are not the only troubles that people have had to go through. Below are some coins associated with the Jewish uprising . First is an aureus of Nero issued to accompany the Neronian Games so issued close to the day when the Jewish uprising started in 66 AD. Next are two denarii of Galba and Vitellius (sorry, no Otho) whose attempts to seize the imperial throne for themselves distracted Rome from the Jewish uprising and led to Vespasian's coming to power. Next is a dupondius of Vespasian, himself and beside that a sestertius of Titus who, of course would succeed his father to the throne in 79 AD. It has PAX on the reverse but perhaps SOLITUDO would have been more appropriate. The other coin is a bronze of King Antiochus IV, of Commagene, one of the Roman client state's rulers who aided the Romans. He was removed from his throne in 72 AD, perhaps disappointing the emperor or his son for his Judaean performance (or liking the Parthians a bit too much). My apologies for not including any of the Jewish coins the insurgents issued but I simply don't have any, but perhaps some members here might have some, especially of the coins minted in Jerusalem using struck over Roman denarii. Perhaps some might have coins issued during the second Jewish rebellion during Hadrian's reign as there would be another.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Nice write-up and coins @kevin McGonigal ! I read Josephus in college in my Roman history class taught by the scholar Erich Gruen. Great read though Josephus was kind of a sell-out.

 

Yes, I think I use the term self serving above. He is a very complex character who, as you know, was one of the Jewish rebel commanders who after his surrender to Vespasian after the future emperor took the city Josephus commanded, took up with his Roman captors, was accepted by them and served Titus as an aid and interpreter in the latter stages of the war. Although a sometimes unlikable character his friendship with Titus, and later Domitian, allowed him access to Roman archives and his two books on the rebellion are well written and when he is not part of the story, pretty reliable. Perhaps some of us might, put into the same position, would have reevaluated the situation and done something similar. Sometimes selling out can be seen as "enlightened self interest" and strategic preservation of manpower. It has been done by people a lot worse than Josephus.

 

Interesting recitation of history. Thanks for sharing. I recall my visit to Masada, back when I lived in Egypt. It's very thought-provoking to walk the grounds where such history unfolded.

 

That is a place I would very much like to visit. Perhaps the walls could speak to us.

 

@kevin McGonigal ......Great write up thanks....
Here's something that's related...
This small bronze coin was minted under the Zealot faction in Judea (Mint city unknown) during the First Jewish revolt against Rome 66-73 CE and was only minted for two years 67-68 and 68-69 AD. It was produced as a type of war propaganda using the symbols of an Amphora and Grape vine signifying prosperity and abundance and a Paleo-Hebrew script aimed to strengthen the claim of the Zealots to have an independent country of their own, Judea.

First Jewish Revolt against Rome, 66 - 73 CE - Bronze Prutah Masada Coin 17mm/2.85gr.
Obverse..Vine leaf with small branch and tendril, surrounded by the inscription "Harut Zion"-('freedom of Zion').
Reverse..Amphora with wide rim, fluted belly and two handles, Paleo-Hebrew inscription 'year two' 67 CE.

 

Thanks for the write-up, kevin

Titus As with desert patina


Vespasian with a mean aegle:

 

Thanks for the write-up!

I don't have any coins related to the First Jewish Rebellion, but here are two pictures I took when visiting the Masada last November. On the first one, you can see the remains of one of the Roman siege camps and the siege wall in the distance, and the second one shows the ramp that finally breached the fortress.

 

That's just what I don't have. Thanks for posting yours.

 

On my, what a view from both above and below. I hardly know who I should a

 

Here are prutot from Year 2 and Year 3 of the Jewish War. (Both of them need to be rephotographed.) They are very similar in design, but note that the amphora on the Year 3 prutah has a lid.


Year 2 (67-68 AD). Amphora with broad rim and two handles, Hebrew legend "year two" / Grape leaf on vine, Hebrew legend, "the freedom of Zion."


Year 3 (68-69 AD). Amphora with broad rim, two handles, and a conical lid, Hebrew legend "year three" / Grape leaf on vine, Hebrew legend "the freedom of Zion."

 

Here's another coin of mine from Year 3 that better shows the decorative lid on the amphora:

 

@Orielensis, I enjoyed seeing your photos from atop Masada. I also visited the site last year. Nice re-telling of the "historical fall," @kevin McGonigal, which highlighted the connections between the cast of seven included in your account:


Nero


Galba


Otho


Vitellius


Vespasian


Titus


Antiochus IV

 

Very interesting topic for a thread. Thanks for starting.

Unfortunately I don't have any related coins except a few that I show too often.

The fall of Masada has an almost legendary character. The question is whether this is justified. There are a few issues:

The first problem is that we only have one source, Flavius Josephus. The annoying thing about this is that we cannot compare sources and if possible eliminate exaggeration. However, we have a source that states this and that is more than for some other ancient events, so we will have to accept Josephus's report unless the contrary is proven.

Josephus shows in his two great works: the Jewish war and the Jewish antiquities that he has a strong analytical ability. He also has a lot of knowledge about the Jewish tradition. He also has weaknesses that are particularly evident in Jewish antiquities. He often knows events but is difficult to date them properly. However, like almost all ancient authors, he still has another weakness. He has an agenda with his histories. This means that we cannot blindly copy everything Josephus writes. Back to the Jewish war that describes the fall of Masada. Josephus description contains numerous inaccuracies. For example, he estimates the height of the walls far too high, he also tells about one palace while there were two palaces.

The next problem is archeological evidance. Research in Masada has shown that the suicides were not as massive as Josephus would have us believe. Quite a few skeletons of refugees have been found. So there is no conclusive evidence for the mass suicide.

The major problem with the explanation Josephus gives is that he tells things that are extremely unlikely or that he could not know. The first problem is Eleazar ben Ya'ir's speech. He gives an impressive speech in which he convinced his fellow fighters to commit suicide. However, if everyone committed suicide, how could the contents of this speech have reached Josephus? We can assume that any survivors were enslaved. And so they were never able to tell what had actually been said.
So we can conclude that Josephus made this speech to give a certain message to the reader.

This is important since Josephus lets Eleazar say that God wanted Roman rule and that opposition to Rome was wrong. You could conclude that Josephus himself thought of it that way. Since he did not know what Eleazar had really said and because Josephus had spoken in similar terms after his capture.

Another problem is that the Romans broke through the first wall, and then discovered that a second wall had been built by the Sicarians. Then they withdrew. This is an unlikely course, the Romans had besieged Masada for weeks and now victory was up for grabs. So it is unlikely that the Romans did not push through after the first wall fell.

There is another aspect of the mass suicide that is an issue. According to several historians, the Romans would have immediately benefited from the fact that the walls were unoccupied.

Personally I hope you don't consider this to be critical. My sole purpose is to provide a critical note to Josephus' story.

 

A most wonderful group of coins! That Titus sestertius from Thrace is particularly nice.

The Masada Myth has indeed been an inspiring story, yet one that is wholly fabricated from the thinnest of strands derived from Josephus. One of the biggest distortions states that the 900 or so souls atop the mountain peak were 'zealots'. Josephus says nothing of the sort. He calls them sicarii (knife-men) and tells us they looted and plundered the surrounding local Jewish communities until the Romans arrived. Not the sort of heroic stuff a 'freedom fighters' saga calls for. There is really is no archaeological evidence of a mass suicide either. Most likely the siege was concluded with a minor skirmish combined with suicides and followed by enslavement for any of the survivors. It is much more plausible to think that Josephus (who was not present for the siege) exaggerated the stories and field reports he consulted for rhetorical effect.

For further reading, I suggest this book which debunks a lot of the mythology surrounding the tale.



And if you're interested in the archaeology, try this fascinating lecture by biblical archaeologist Jodi Magness.



Her recent book Masada is well worth tracking down too.

 

The History write-up is wonderful, @kevin McGonigal . I always enjoy your posts. The coins are fantastic, congrats collecting them to your clutches!

Personally, regarding Josephus the person (not his works on his perspective on history), I always felt he was a Quisling. However, that is a personal observation. As some noted above, it is a shame there are few other contemporary observations to corroborate his histories. That all aside, personally, he is not the type of person that I would associate with.

Also, LOL, I COVET your clutch of coins! Nice ones.

I do not have a local coin from this time period. However, I do have a few Roman coins from this time period, illustrating the struggle that ultimately brought Vespasian to power.

NERO - He lost total control...

RI Nero AR Tetradrachm 54-68 CE Eagle

The Guy Who Had HAD it with Nero!
VINDEX


Roman Imperial
Civil War Revolt of Vindex
CE 68-69
AR Denarius 17mm 3.02g
ROMA RESTITVTA -
IVPITER LIBERATOR Jupiter seated r Tbolt Scepter
RIC I 62 RSC 374-
RARE

The Mash-up Before Vespasian:

GALBA

RI GALBA 68-69 BCE AR Quinarius Lugdunum mint laureate r Victory globe stdng left 15mm 1.5g RIC 131 scarce

OTHO

RI Otho 69 CE BI AR Tet 23mm Egypt Helmeted Roma Emmet 186

VITELLIUS

RI Vitellius 69 CE AR Denarius Pont Max Vesta Seated


The Guy who CONSOLIDATED Roman Feces:

VESPASIAN

RI Vespasian 69-79 CE AR Quinarius Victory seated wreath palm RIC 802 Rare

TITUS

RI Titus 79-81 CE AR Denarius Ceres seated corn ear poppy torch

 

Nice collection.

 

Not at all. It is a shame that another historian's works, Tacitus' histories, are not complete as he apparently did write about the Jewish uprising but only a few peripheral passages have survived. I find him to be about as good as an ancient historian can be, second only to Thucydides who, was of course, a participant and contemporary of his writing. As I said above, when Josephus is not part of the story, his reporting seems at least plausible and when he is the only game in town, better than nothing. The second rebellion of the Jews under Hadrian may have been bloodier, for both sides, and more decisive for Jewish history, but is far less known simply because that uprising had no Josephus to relate it. I did read recently in a 2002 book that employed some of the more recent archaeological research that the absence of skeletal remains may be attributed to the Roman's permitting other Jews to give the dead a Jewish burial on the ground below the fortress. If the Romans were to garrison Masada something would have to be done to the dead and allowing the Jews to remove and bury the dead would have been a favor to the Romans. The author cites an example of this from the Romans having captured a town in Galilee earlier in the war where this was done. The author thinks that there may yet be uncovered in the vicinity of Masada a mass grave site that time may yet reveal.

 

I share your opinion of Tacitus. His Histories are unparalleled in my opinion. It is very unfortunate that his Histories have not been fully handed down, they could have provided us with a wealth of information, especially because Tacitus also paid a lot of attention to the province in addition to Rome.

Moreover, the lost books could have provided us with the only narrative record by the government of the Flavians. Especially for Domitian we miss this very much because the most important sources about him Suetonius and Cassius Dio write reports without a very clear chronological order.

There are also several Historians who think that Tacitus gave a different account of the fall of Jerusalem than the pro-Flavian Josephus. They base this on later writers who still know the lost books from the Histories. Based on these sources, they suspected that the temple was set on fire by Titus on purpose.

I personally hope that the lost books will one day be found. Because in addition to the information that his books provide, they are also stylistically of enormous quality.

However, the chance is very small. My hope is more focused on the library of Herculaneum. A Dutch Historian told me about it last year.
You can read more about it here:
https://www.theguardian.com/science...-charred-by-vesuvius-could-be-read-once-again
Tacitus Histories will not be found there, but probably many other works.

 

I believe that I recently saw something on one of cable channels about that. Who know what they could find? I'll bet dollars to donuts that somewhere, in some Syrian monastery, there is a palimpsest of Tacitus waiting to be discovered. By the way I find something else admirable in Tacitus, a wry sense of humor, rare in any historian until modern times and even now uncommon.